STEMing the growth of primary science

Kelly Dockerty looks at the implications for teacher training and the findings of the CBI report Tomorrow’s world: Inspiring primary scientists

Preventive measures in infancy to reduce under-five mortality: a case-control study in The Gambia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between child mortality and common preventive interventions: vaccination, trained birthing attendants, tetanus toxoid during pregnancy, breastfeeding and vitamin A supplementation. METHODS: Case-control study in a population under demographic surveillance. Cases (n = 141) were children under five who died. Each was age and sex-matched to five controls (n = 705). Information was gathered by interviewing primary caregivers. RESULTS: All but one of the interventions - whether the mother had received tetanus toxoid during pregnancy - were protective against child mortality after multivariate analysis. Having a trained person assisting at child birth (OR 0.2 95% CI 0.1-0.4), receiving all vaccinations by 9 months of age (OR 0.1; 95% CI 0.01-0.3), being breastfed for more than 12 months (Children breastfed between 13 and 24 months OR 0.1 95% CI 0.03-0.3, more than 25 months OR 0.1 95% CI 0.01-0.5) and receiving vitamin A supplementation at or after 6 months of age (OR 0.05; 95% CI 0.01-0.2) were protective against child death. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the value of at least four available interventions in the prevention of under-five death in The Gambia. It is now important to identify those who are not receiving them and why, and to intervene to improve coverage across the population

Using video as a form of artistic communication: preparing for undergraduate assessment in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

In a fast-evolving Higher Education (HE) landscape amid the COVID-19 Pandemic the need for a Lecturer in Education to be dynamic and innovative with assessment pedagogy is no longer a desired skill but mandatory. In response to the demand from students as consumers and other key stakeholders, our innovative and somewhat artistic license in the learning context. At the student-facing edge of HE, Lecturers react to the ever-changing landscape with dynamism to positively impact on the student experience. These continued efforts to provide the best student experience, enables HE institutions to remain competitive with Initial Teacher Education (ITE) provision as part of a cutthroat consumer driven marketplace. This article will present how video as a form of artistic communication supported year one ITE students to make sense of institutional assessment methods. Qualitatively this research was focused on student perceptions gathered through a questionnaire. Student accounts expressed overwhelmingly that the use of video as a form of communication was easier to understand than written formats. The article concludes that to support a diverse student population at a distance and online, a choice of artistic assessment formats including video should be provided. The evidence herein shows that both student understanding and outcomes of assessment were statistically improved and that the format itself facilitated a willingness to engage online in a purposeful way with assessment. Students also repeatedly revisit assessment materials embedded in a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

Training teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic: using live video for observation of practicum

This article provides a vignette to exemplify how the training of teachers in primary schools in England was adapted in one context during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the key challenges HEIs and Schools faced was how to continue to assess the practicum of trainee teachers whilst trying to maintain the integrity of classroom ’bubbles’. A fast change in practice occurred with recommendation from the Department for Education (DfE, 2020) that observations could be made face-to-face if risk assessed and COVID-19 safety measures were in place. Observations could be remote using a digital platform or other suitable technology to capture practicum at a distance. Alternatively, practicum could be ‘unseen’ with pre- and post- observation discussions with mentors from HEIs. The latter option left the school-based mentors picking up most of the observational workload in schools. Given the global crisis that unfolded from early 2019 the workload was unmanageable for most schools. This article concludes that the use of video provides a rich observation opportunity that does not degrade the quality of observation of trainee teachers. It is proposed that policy and practice beyond the pandemic considers maintaining live video observation as an example of good practice, and offers practical steps on how this methodology for observation can be deployed in other teacher training settings across the World

Developing pre-service teacher knowledge using online forums: supporting confident and competent teaching practices

This small study examines how one group (n = 59) of first-year undergraduate students developed their knowledge through co-construction using an online forum as a platform as part of a three-year Initial Teacher Training (ITT) programme. Professional dialogue at the online interface supported them to cope with the challenges they faced during teaching practice. The data showed that there were gains in student subject and pedagogical knowledge, observed to a greater extent among the peripheral learners. The data presented provide an alternative view from that published in the existing literature about the size and type of both peripheral and core online interactions that were useful in building the confidence and competence of students in the role of teachers in a primary classroom. Ultimately, the online knowledge exchange among peripheral participants provided agency in learning over actions and the ability to cope during teaching practice. This was corroborated by student self-assessment using post-online reflective brainstorms. Sixty-four per cent of the students concluded that they would use this new subject and pedagogical knowledge when in school as part of their teaching practice

Potential impacts on ecosystem services of land use transitions to second-generation bioenergy crops in GB

We present the first assessment of the impact of land use change (LUC) to second-generation (2G) bioenergy crops on ecosystem services (ES) resolved spatially for Great Britain (GB). A systematic approach was used to assess available evidence on the impacts of LUC from arable, semi-improved grassland or woodland/forest, to 2G bioenergy crops, for which a quantitative ‘threat matrix’ was developed. The threat matrix was used to estimate potential impacts of transitions to either Miscanthus, short-rotation coppice (SRC, willow and poplar) or short-rotation forestry (SRF). The ES effects were found to be largely dependent on previous land uses rather than the choice of 2G crop when assessing the technical potential of available biomass with a transition from arable crops resulting in the most positive effect on ES. Combining these data with constraint masks and available land for SRC and Miscanthus (SRF omitted from this stage due to lack of data), south-west and north-west England were identified as areas where Miscanthus and SRC could be grown, respectively, with favourable combinations of economic viability, carbon sequestration, high yield and positive ES benefits. This study also suggests that not all prospective planting of Miscanthus and SRC can be allocated to agricultural land class (ALC) ALC 3 and ALC 4 and suitable areas of ALC 5 are only minimally available. Beneficial impacts were found on 146 583 and 71 890 ha when planting Miscanthus or SRC, respectively, under baseline planting conditions rising to 293 247 and 91 318 ha, respectively, under 2020 planting scenarios. The results provide an insight into the interplay between land availability, original land uses, bioenergy crop type and yield in determining overall positive or negative impacts of bioenergy cropping on ecosystems services and go some way towards developing a framework for quantifying wider ES impacts of this important LUC

Inter-generational Transmission of Indigenous Culture and Children’s Wellbeing

A limited body of empirical evidence suggests a strong sense of cultural identity promotes wellbeing and other socio-economic outcomes for First Nations people, including for Indigenous Australians. A challenge to this body of evidence is potential endogeneity: that Indigenous people who achieve positive outcomes are then more likely to maintain and engage in their traditional culture. This paper uses data from Australia’s Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children to address that challenge. Indigenous parents’ attitudes and practices with respect to passing on traditional culture to their children in early childhood are related to children’s later health and socio-emotional adjustment. Exploratory factor analysis identifies three key elements of parental transmission of Indigenous culture to their children: connection to country, connection to kin and traditional knowledge. Parents fostering a strong kinship connection is found to contribute to positive child development. Positive effects of stronger connection to country and parental desires to pass on traditional knowledge are also identified in some regional contexts, providing further evidence that traditional Indigenous cultures should be seen as a resource for addressing Indigenous disadvantage, not a contributing factor. The research design eliminates the possibility of (the child’s) outcomes ‘causing’ greater cultural identity or engagement, but not the possibility of omitted variables shaping both parents’ practices toward cultural engagement and child outcomes

Public perceptions of environmental friendliness of renewable energy power plants

Demanding EU targets for renewables create challenges for governmental decisions regarding energy sources and plant sitting. In this study we explore perceptions of the Portuguese general population regarding renewable energy power plants. In particular we study how these are affected by dimensions such as home distance to the power plant and its visibility, familiarity with the different energy sources, involvement in terms of employment, and socioeconomic characteristics. We find considerable differences in perception depending on familiarity and involvement with energy sources, environmental friendliness, and specific environmental impacts. Assessment of public perceptions of renewables should thus include these different dimensions.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from FCT Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia with Grant Number PTDC/EGE-ECO/122402/2010

Population mixing and incidence of cancers in adolescents and young adults between 1990 and 2013 in Yorkshire, UK

Purpose: Epidemiological evidence suggests a role for an infectious etiology for cancers in teenagers and young adults (TYAs). We investigated this by describing associations between infection transmission using the population mixing (PM) proxy and incidence of cancers in TYAs in Yorkshire, UK. Methods: We extracted cancer cases from the Yorkshire Specialist Register of Cancer in Children and Young People from 1990 to 2013 (n = 1929). Using multivariable Poisson regression models (adjusting for effects of deprivation and population density), we investigated whether PM was associated with cancer incidence. We included population mixing–population density interaction terms to examine for differences in effects of PM in urban and rural populations. Results: Nonsignificant IRRs were observed for leukemias (IRR 1.20, 95% CI 0.91–1.59), lymphomas (IRR 1.09, 95% CI 0.90–1.32), central nervous system tumors (IRR 1.06, 95% CI 0.80–1.40) and germ cell tumors (IRR 1.14, 95% CI 0.92–1.41). The association between PM and cancer incidence did not vary in urban and rural areas. Conclusions: Study results suggest PM is not associated with incidence of cancers among TYAs. This effect does not differ between rural and urban settings